UPDATE(September 3rd @ 1:18am): Lane Zerbin finished 4th at Skagit Speedway Saturday night in the Team NPP #81 Modified. Its the second consecutive weekend the Victoria, BC driver has finished fourth in a Feature event. Zerbin finished fourth last Saturday night (August 26th) at Grays Harbor Raceway. This was also Zerbins fourth consecutive top 5 finish in Washington State. Fellow British Columbia driver Graham Cooke from Parksville was the Feature winner at Skagit Speedway on Saturday night. Campbell River, BC's Chris Beaulieu finished 6th. Both Cooke and Beaulieu are former competitors in the NPP Late Model Series. Cooke raced in the NPP Series more than a decade ago. Beaulieu finished 5th in NPP Late Model Series points back in 2012.

Its a quick turnaround for Zerbin after Saturday night race action. He's back on the track in his Modified at Grays Harbor Raceway Sunday night.

UPDATE(September 3rd @ 11:41pm): Lane Zerbin overcame a few struggles Sunday night to win the big Feature at Grays Harbor Raceway in the Team NPP #81 Modified. The Victoria, BC driver finished 8th in his heat race which meant he had to run the 'B' Feature. Zerbin ended up winning the 'B' Feature securing a spot in the 20 car 'A' Feature race. Starting near the back of the pack Zerbin had gotten by a half dozen cars by Lap 8. On Lap 10, Zerbin was running in the fourth position. By Lap 13 he was running second chasing down the race leader and fellow Canadian driver Chris Beaulieu from Campbell River, BC. Zerbin took over the race lead on Lap 15 and never looked back. Its Zerbins second Feature win of 2017 in Elma, Washington.

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SUPER IN SEPTEMBERELMA, WA (September 4) - What a weekend for Lane Zerbin in the Team NPP #81 Modified in Washington State. On Saturday night Zerbin drove the Northern Provincial Pipelines Ltd./Alien Race Cars #81 Modified to a fourth place finish at Skagit Speedway. Less than 24 hours later, Zerbin was standing in victory lane at Grays Harbor Raceway. "It was a pretty good weekend for sure." Saturday night in Alger, Washington, Zerbin finished 5th in his heat which automatically transferred him to the 'A' Feature event. "Saturday's Feature was a caution fest (at Skagit), " explains Zerbin, "every two laps there was a caution. I started pretty deep in the field so it was hard to get any momentum going. I was pretty happy to even make it up to fourth." This was Zerbin's first appearance at Skagit Speedway this season. Lane and his dad (Ted) loaded up the Team NPP #81 Modified and headed to Elma, Washington for Sunday night race action.

"Had a really quick car Sunday," admits the 22 year old, "I was fastest overall in hot laps so I was really looking forward to the race." The extra speed may have been a bit of a downfall early for Zerbin. "I messed up in the Heat race and didn't get a transfer spot (to the 'A' Feature)." Zerbin finished 8th in his Heat race. To transfer to the 20 car 'A' Feature, he needed to finish fourth or better in the 'B' Feature. "Started 6th in the 'B' and ended up winning it. For the 'A' Main I started 16th." Zerbin narrowly avoided a five car crash at the tail end of Lap 2 in the big Feature. The calamity happened right in front of him. His quick reflexes were rewarded and the Team NPP driver immediately gained five spots and moved up to 11th for the restart. On Lap 10, Zerbin was running in the fourth position. "The car was hooked up on the topside. I got by two cars almost every corner when the opportunity presented itself. If there was a gap I took it." By Lap 13 he was running second and chasing down race leader and fellow Canadian driver Chris Beaulieu from Campbell River, BC. Zerbin took the race lead away from Beaulieu a few laps later.

#81 ZERBIN AND #14 SEABECK SWAPPED LEAD TWICE ON FINAL LAP AT GHR.............................................................................................................................. (Image: AR RACING)

Getting by lapped traffic in the dying laps of the Feature slowed the pace of a speedy Zerbin. On the white flag lap Seabeck, Washington's Tyler Moore briefly got by Zerbin to take over the race race lead . "I started hearing Tyler (Moore) with about five laps to go. He snuck up behind me and took the lead for about a half lap." Moore had the lead going into the final corner but Zerbin made an outside pass coming out of four to grab the win at the checkered flag. "No one wanted to go to the topside (of the track) in Elma. I made it work several times Saturday night including the front straight pass for the win." This was Zerbin's second Feature event win of 2017 at Grays Harbor Raceway. His first win of the season came back on July 21st. "We are getting more consistent which is what we need." In his last seven starts Zerbin has had an average Feature finish of 4.0. At this point in time Zerbin is unsure if there are any more races left for him in 2017. "There is one more Modified race in Elma the end of the month (September 30th). Hoping to be at this one."

NEW CAR SMELL (PART II)VICTORIA, BC(September 19)- Team NPP's newest race car is just weeks away from completion. Alien Race Cars, based in Victoria, British Columbia, is building Darrell Midgley's brand new pavement Super Late Model. "We got the chassis back last week (from the powder coaters)," exclaims Alien Race Cars owner Ted Zerbin, "we are now in the process of re-assembling the car."

BRAND NEW SLM TAKING SHAPE AT ALIEN RACE CARS

This brand new race car replaces a near decade-old Super Late Model. "I had a close look at the car on the weekend," says Sidney, BC's Darrell Midgley, "it's coming together nicely." The brand new Northern Provincial Pipelines/Alien Race Cars #81 Dodge will be run on a Hamke chassis. "Talking with a lot of people we've raced against over the years they say this is the way to go." Hamke Race Cars is based in Moorseville, North Carolina and is said to be one of the most successful racing business in North America.

DECADE OLD DODGE WILL BE A BACK UP CAR

"Our old car is still a good car but this new car will compete against anything thats out there today." Midgley has two top-ten finishes this season in the 10 year old #81 Dodge. When completed, finding a place to test a brand new Super Late Model will not be a problem. Midgley is president of Western Speedway on Vancouver Island. "We'll probably put down about 30 laps here to make sure there are no leaks. After that, we'll secure the car in the hauler and get ready to head down to Vegas."

DIGITAL DASH REPLACES ANALOG GAUGES

Midgley is already entered into the two-day Senators Cup Super Late Model race on October 20th and 21st at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After the Las Vegas event, Midgley and team head to Tucson Speedway for a one night race on October 28th. Team NPP will set up a makeshift base camp in Tucson, Arizona in order to attend several SLM race events during the winter months.

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THE SEASON THAT WASN'TEDMONTON, AB(September 27)- Another season of oval racing is coming to an end in the province of Alberta. Race tracks in Wetaskiwin and Drayton Valley will be bringing their seasons to a close on October 1st and 15th. Back on September 9th, Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, wrapped up its 27th consecutive season. Rimbey's Central Alberta Raceways wrapped up its 13th consecutive season with a two-day show on September 23rd and 24th. Unfortunately, the seventeenth consecutive season of Northern Provincial Pipelines Late Model Series race action did not take place in 2017. Back in May the entire season was cancelled by NPP Series officials due to a low car count and a sour Alberta economy. "The decision to cancel the season was the right decision," says NPP Series announcer Gord Craig, "our largest car count at any one race this season would have been six cars and that is not acceptable by our standards." For years the NPP Late Model Series saw double digit car counts for all its scheduled events.

NPP SERIES HAD BIG CAR COUNTS "BACK IN THE DAY"

"We used to have fifteen to twenty teams in the pits but that's not the case anymore." From entry fees to car repairs and upkeep, racing costs have skyrocketed over the years. "We are not the only class to see a decline in the number of teams," says Craig, "I did attend a few events this year (as a spectator) and saw several classes that had only five or six cars in the field." The last double digit car count for a NPP Late Model Series event was July 4th, 2015 when 10 teams showed at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. "The state of the Alberta economy is a little better now but an expected car count bump (for all classes) did not happen." NPP Series officials are into the early planning stages for the 2018 season. "Yes the 2017 season was cancelled. It's a bit of a black eye. At the same time its forced us to face some things that we probably have ignored for far too long. We want to get things right in time for 2018." The NPP Late Model Series has competed at 11 different race tracks since its inaugural season back in 2001. A majority of the race events have been held in Edmonton.